Serendipity
by Jubchili
Summary: The last surviving family of a once powerful clan seek refuge with the Uchiha. (Pre-Konoha) (Romance, drama, suspense, ecchi, humour) MadaraOC ; IzunaOC (Cover done by janora00 on deviantart)
1. Fear or Fairy?

**Yo. **

**This is my first fanfic ever. **

**This story was one I'd thought out for a long while, but never got the chance to write. I know the entire plot layout and most of the key events that are to happen in the future. **

**This chapter is filled with a bit of suspense I know, but I'll put up a few more soon. Hopefully. **

**Please review! Thanks so much!**

* * *

The water in the pond stood still as the dawn approached. The sun peeked over the distant hills and its rays filtered through the thick wooded canopy. An old woman with greyish blue hair stared at her ever aging reflection in the water. Her eyes were dark grey, though in her youth they were a deep navy colour. Lines fell from the sides of her mouth, giving her a permanently grumpy expression – although her youngest granddaughter thought it was amusing and constantly poked at them as if they were little snakes waiting to jump out at her. Aged she was, but young at heart, as her eldest granddaughter would say. She was perhaps the only one in the entire clan who understood those two little girls, although for an entirely different reason than being 'young at heart'.

She stared hardly at the water, observing every line, every wrinkle that adorned her features, but not with malice or contempt as one would think, but with a sense of tiredness, for she had seen far too much in her long life. She hoped that soon it would be over and she could finally rest in peace.

The woman's gaze rose from the water to meet similar, much younger eyes. Her daughter. She wore a similar kimono to hers: Royal blue with detailed snowflake patterns and dark navy edges. Her light blue hair was tied into a tight bun and from her ears hung large, pale blue oval earrings with a Tomoe design.

"Tomorrow is the day" the older woman said matter-of-factly. She knew exactly what was going through her daughter's mind at that moment.

"Why do you keep reminding me, mother?" Mizuka sighed. She had been trying all of yesterday and all the days before to forget what had happened, and what was to follow.

"They're going to be fine you know Mizuka. Your daughters are strong girls." The woman used her walking stick to disturb the water slightly. Distinct ripples distorted her ancient image on the water's surface.

"Not in the Land of Fire they aren't" Mizuka continued before her mother could speak, "This world is plagued with war and death mother. My daughters are of royal blood. Sure targets to any opposition. And ever since those ridiculously powerful Senju started nagging us for women shinobi, none in our clan have been safe. It was a stupid idea to ally with them in the first place."

"The Senju do not know anything." Mizuka's mother stated. She had the utmost confidence in the naivety and complete incompetency of the Senju and their idiotic leader Senju Butsuma with regards to her own clan.

"So what? That doesn't mean they won't find out!" Mizuka yelled.

Suddenly the forest became eerily quiet. Mizuka's yelling had instilled an awkward silence in the garden.

Mizuka's mother was about to break it with her own yelling, although at a much softer pitch, when a rustling in the leaves caught their immediate attention.

"Kazune-sama" the kunoichi addressed the old woman, "A letter has arrived from the Land of Fire."

**(A/N: -Sama is a Japanese honorific meaning Lord or Lady)**

"Hn" Kazune acknowledged the female shinobi as she handed her the scroll. The seal was the classic red and white fan of the Uchiha – the second most powerful clan of the ages – inferior only to the Senju.

Kazune made no attempt to show Mizuka the letter nor reveal its contents once she finished reading it. She sighed a deep, tedious sigh that strained her back more than it should have.

"Maki. Today is the last day. Make the preparations." She waved off the kunoichi after returning the letter to her. "Show it to no one"

After Maki left Mizuka spoke.

"What did the letter say, mother?" Mizuka waited for her mother's reply, but sadly she was graced with none. "Oi! You old hag! Tell me!" she bellowed in Kazune's ear.

"Nothing that concerns you my lovely daughter." Replied Kazune nonchalantly. She seemed to not have been affected at all by her daughter's outburst – or so it would seem. Internally she was enraged. Old hag? She would show her who the old hag was once they reached that Land of Fire. That she would for sure.

"As you say mother." Mizuka said quietly. "Shall we go back now?"

The sun had risen considerably now, lighting up the majority of the wood. The light passed through even the littlest of gap in the trees and gave the entire wood a magical 'Fairy' feel to it. Mizuka and Kazune walked on the stone path that led away from the pond back to their temple.

Tomorrow would be the day.

* * *

Maki left the pond via the route opposite to which Kazune-sama and Mizuka-sama had left. Preparations had to be made for the Royal family's journey to the Land of Fire and she was to make them.

Maki was never one to pry or stick her nose in to other people's business, where it generally did not belong, and her instincts told her that the letter she had delivered contained extremely sensitive information that she really wasn't supposed to know about, but the seal that had once kept the letter bound in its bones, had been broken by Kazune-sama. All she had to do was open it.

"No. No. No. You will not open this letter Maki" she recited to herself inwardly.

Soon she had exited the green wood. Her hair had become disheveled due to the low lying branches of the stunted trees of the wood. She took a quick moment to herself to fix it up. Her hair was not black, but it seemed to be. It was the darkest dark brown that could possible exist. It was stick straight and reached her shoulders.

She didn't care much for her appearance which was more or less similar to any other kunoichi in the clan. The only noticeable difference was her eyes. Instead of regular brown, they were navy blue. Blue eyes indicated royal birth in her clan. However for one to be truly royal, they had to also have considerably blue hair, which she did not have. However since her eyes were a bit differently coloured, she was considered to be the royal family's personal kunoichi. She frequently ran errands for Kazune-sama and Mizuka-sama.

Considering the majority of shinobi of her clan were female, less attention was given to appearances. These days, kimono's and jewelry were just formalities for weddings and other such occasions.

The path leading away from the edge of the wood split into two a little ways down. The path on the left went to the Western Gate and the path on the right led back to the main temple. Maki went straight to the path on the left, in more of a hurry than required. Time was not particularly of the essence, but she wanted to get things done as fast as possible so that she could get down to a bit of reading about where exactly she was going.

The Western Gate was swarmed.

Mostly with carriages, ivory white horses, flag poles, and various other crates which contained a majority of clothes, food and medicine – which mostly belonged to Kazune-sama. Maki heaved a sigh and began ordering around anyone who was loitering or seemingly pretending to work.

"Oi! You there! Kazune-sama has made it very clear that we are to be ready by tonight!" Maki chided herself slightly at what she had said. Mostly because Kazune-sama had NOT clearly stated that they were to be ready by tonight but that we were simply leaving tomorrow.

Oh well, she thought, better to finish up early than late, right?

More kunoichi appeared from the shadows. They were to be the personal guard of the royal family during their journey. Since there were going to be only two stops before they were to reach the Land of Fire, there had to be enough kunoichi to mind the carriages, and still few enough to be allowed peacefully to the Land of Fire.

How tedious, Maki thought.

"Maki-san" one of the kunoichi acknowledged her. She was Maki's second in command. Her appearance was similar to Maki's, except that her hair was lighter, longer, and her eyes were brown, not blue.

"Hn. Mika-kun!" she happily hugged her subordinate. "Did you tell Yagura that you like him yet?" she playfully poked Mika's cheek.

Mika fumed at her captain's snarky comment.

"How many times must I tell you that I don't like Yagura like that!" Mika yelled, although if you looked close enough, and that's exactly what Maki was doing, you would see the hint of a blush appearing on her fair cheeks.

"Whatever you say Mi-kun"

"Stop with the –kun!"

"Mi-chan"

"I said stop!"

"You said stop with the –kun"

"Well stop the –chan too then!"

"Hmm. How about… Mi-tan!" Maki was having too much fun to stop.

"How about nothing. Ever. Alright captain?"

"Fine, fine. Be a grumpy little twit about it" Maki muttered dismally under her breath.

No one liked her little jokes. Especially her subordinates. Why couldn't they be fun? Even Kazune-sama enjoyed a little of her verbal jousting – especially after she came out of the bath. Maki would often ask her:

"Did you have a nice bath Kazu-kun?"

At this Kazune would deliver her an extremely grumpy expression because they both knew very well that she had not had a nice bath because she generally did not have nice baths. The water either burned her sensitive skin or proceeded to freeze her to death. She was beginning to think that Maki purposefully did that to her bath water, because whenever she asked Mizuka, she'd say that water was perfect.

The truth was that she did do it purposefully.

And she did not regret it.

That was the thing about Maki. She looked all stoic and serious and cheerless but those who knew her well like Mika and Kazune-sama knew that she was nothing like that at all. She loved bad humour, simple minded pranks, perverted jokes coming from an innocent woman's mouth, cute boys, and dark sunsets. She may have looked like a hardened kunoichi, but inside, she was just a big ball of sweetness.

"Hey Maki-san!" one of the rarer male shinobi called out to her, "We're almost done with everything. We just need you to look over the list of accompanying shinobi to see if you want to make any changes"

The man was incredibly cheerful and surprisingly calm in an environment in which women dominated. He had spiky dark blue hair.

Blue.

That meant that he was royalty.

Well, distant royalty would be more precise. Yagura was a distant cousin of Mizuka-sama's daughters. But since he was male, he was given less recognition in the royal home. But that didn't seem to bother him at all.

"Thanks Yagura-kun!" Maki said, taking a parchment from him which contained the list of accompanying shinobi. The first few names were of incredibly capable kunoichi followed by a few medical and sensory nin. She crossed out some of the names at the top and added herself, Yagura, and Mika. Oh she was going to have so much fun in the Land of Fire. She quickly folded the paper and handed it back to Yagura who didn't make any attempt to open it to see what changes she had made.  
Yet.

"Hey Yagura, do you want to know a secret?" she asked him slyly.

"Uh… I guess?" Yagura hesitated. Maki was one to play jokes. He didn't want to be at the center of anything major right before they were about to leave for the land of fire.

"Too bad I can't tell you. But if you really want to know" she paused for dramatic effect, "ASK MIKA-KUN!"

With that she hysterically skipped off on the path towards the main temple, leaving Yagura in a more than puzzled state.

* * *

As Kazune and Mizuka entered the main temple, their home, they heard two distinct voices yelling at each other at a very high pitch. Kazune's already battering headache could not possible get any worse after this.

"We are not going to Fairy Land tomorrow Kazune!" one of the voices yelled.

The other, probably a different Kazune simply yelled back, "Yes we ARE! Maki-san said that we were going to the Land of Fairy also called the Fairy Lands"

"She said Land of FEAR and FEARY lands not FAIRY!" the first voice argued.

"Why don't we ask Grandmother then?" said Kazune.

"Fine" declared the first voice.

At the entrance of the temple, the older Kazune was preparing for the worst.

"GRANDMOTHER!" both voices echoed simultaneously. The carriers of the voices emerged from the innards of the temple moments later.

"Yes dears?" Kazune asked them. Although she already knew what their question would be from their incredibly audible yelling.

"Are we or are we not going to the Land of Fear tomorrow?" asked the older girl.

"Or are we going to the Fairy Lands?" asked Kazune.

Mizuka seemed annoyed at being ignored by her own daughters so she simply walked back to where they had both come from.

"I'm afraid neither, my lovelies." Kazune said with her sweetest voice. Even though she was angry at them for yelling, these girls had a way to her heart that no one else had.

"WHAT?!" both girls bellowed at once.

"Calm down dears! We are going to the Land of FIRE. Not Fear, nor Fairy, FIRE." She explained.

"Oh…" they both seemed disappointed by their grandmother's reply, but neither wanted to argue with her on the matter.

"Well, Kagura, Kazune, have you packed all your favourite clothes for the trip yet?"

"Where in the Land of Fire are we going exactly?" asked Kagura. She was older than Kazune by two years and had the habit of asking too many questions for her own good.

"That's a surprise!" their grandmother replied cheerily. "For now, why don't you girls go play some more. Today is your last day here for another whole week!"

"Can we ask Maki-san to do our hair for us tomorrow?" asked Kazune with a glittering light in her eyes. She loved hair. Especially her own blue hair. It was much shorter than her sister's, but she liked it that way. And the things Maki could do with hair. Kazune was getting giddy just thinking about it all.

"Of course! In fact, why don't you ask her now?" Kazune pointed out towards the front garden to an approaching kunoichi.

Maki slithered up the steps and bowed to Kazune-sama. She greeted her granddaughters with equal respect, although they didn't really care or not as to whether someone bowed to them.

"Maki, little Kazune wants you to do her hair up."

"Oi! Me too!" added Kagura noisily.

"Of course Kazune-sama. I am obliged. Come Kazune-hime, Kagura-hime. What hairstyles shall I make for you today?"

**(A/N: -hime means princess.)**

Maki led the tow young princesses back to their bedroom to do their hair. The best thing about being a personal kunoichi to the royals was her time spent with the girls. They had such a nonchalant personality like her. Though separated by two years, they both had similar features.

Both had the royal blue hair and navy blue eyes they inherited from their grandmother. Kagura's hair was far longer than young Kazune's. It reached the middle of her back when it was open. Kazune liked to keep her hair short, and though there were very few short hairstyles that had any effect on anyone, Maki knew how to work her way around hair.

They both pinned parts of their hair on the side of their heads and tied the rest up in a ponytail or bun. Unlike princesses of the past, Kazune and Kagura preferred to wear very simple clothing. They both usually wore a yellow kimono that was cut short at their knees and a pair of high black socks. Mizuka decided to cut their clothes shorter so that they'd have more freedom when they ran around.

Maki started with Kagura's hair, as it usually took the longest. Kazune watched intently as the hairbrush separated the dead hair from the rest of Kagura's head. Each stroke only made her hair more beautiful. Kazune's eyes were sparkling with moe.

**(A/N: Moe is usually used in anime/manga to display fanatical love)**

"Yo Maki" Kagura started, "do you know where in the Land of Fire we're headed to?"

Maki was unsure as to whether or not she should reply. Kazune-sama didn't seem to want them to know about it.

How much damage could it do?

Before she could reply, Kagura began again:

"Because I heard about this clan in the Land of Fire that tortures people just by looking at them. And this other clan that we are supposed to be friends with that is so strong that they are called the caln with a thousand skills." She finished and expectantly looked at Maki. Even Kazune seemed interested now.

"Well," Maki began, "You see… uh. The place we are going is safe. For now at least."

"What do you mean for now? What if war suddenly breaks out?!" Kagura continued to stab Maki with questions.

"Well it's safe for now because there is going to be a peace festival. It's held every four years in honour of the Sage of the Six Paths, who is said to be the father of all shinobi. All the lands declare permanent truce during this festival." Maki explained.

Kagura understood most of what was said aside from the thing about the Sage of the Six Paths, whoever that was. Kazune on the other hand understood only the words peace festival, and permanent truce – which in reality were the only two phrases that were worth remembering according to her.

"Well that's good then!" exclaimed Kazune.

"Well then I guess I was worried for nothing" Kagura said. Placing her hands in her lap, waiting patiently for Maki to finish doing her hair, she wondered what the Land of Fire would be like. She wondered if there were other princes and princesses over there who she could play with.

Kazune was still observing Maki's graceful movements through Kagura's hair.

"And…. Done!" Maki passed Kagura a mirror to see what hairstyle she's given her.

It was simple, yet so fitting to Kagura's volatile personality. Her hair had been parted down the middle neatly. Both sides were perfectly symmetrical. Each thick lock of hair was twisted tightly in to a ponytail which had been split in the middle and twisted again, creating a V-shape before going in to the hairband and out as a single lock of hair. The two little locks of hair that framed her face were tied into loops.

"I love it so much Maki!" Kagura threw herself into the kunoichi's arms.

Maki simply smiled at her.

"Your turn Kazune!" Maki motioned in front of her.

Kazune said nothing but the sparkles in her eyes could not be mistaken for anything but pure moe as she sat herself in front of Maki.

Maki began working on Kazune's hair. Kagura watched, but with less interest than Kazune had. For some reason, her mind kept drifting to the Land of Fire. She was excited to be leaving her home for a stretch of more than two whole days, but something about the Land of Fire, just the way its name sounded in her mouth, so sinister, so dark. She shuddered slightly at her own thoughts.

Kazune was too busy gaping and cooing at her pretty hair like it was a new pet to be worrying about the Land of Fire. Her hair had been styled into two buns on either side of her head with three locks of hair falling from each one. Two locks of hair framed her face, and just like Kagura, they were tied into loops.

**(A/N: Kazune's hair style is similar to Uzumaki Mito's) **

Maki put the hair brush back in to the cupboard and helped clean up any other messes in the princesses' room. She wasn't specifically asked to, but she did it nonetheless. Even though she would be travelling with the girls and staying with them in the Land of Fire, she felt that the girls couldn't be left alone for even a second.

Not where they were going.

Speaking of where they were going.

Maki left the room and pulled Kazune-sama's scroll from her belt. Now that she knew she was going to the Land of Fire with the family, she needed to know what was in the letter.

I am going to regret this aren't I? Definitely a bad idea, she thought.

She sat in a small inconspicuous corner of the temple and opened the scroll. Her expression went from curious to worry to horror.

She heard approaching footsteps in the main hall and consequently strapped the scroll on to her belt, back where it was. She emerged from her hiding spot to find a more than flustered Mika.

"Captain there you are!" she said in relief. She had been looking everywhere for Maki and only around five minutes ago did she think of searching the main temple.

Maki actually looked worried for once. She'd never seen or even HEARD of Mika losing her cool like this. Her cheeks were flushed and her body looked weary.

"What is it Mika? Are you alright?" Maki said, her voice holding deep concern for her friend.

"No! Of course I'm not alright!" Mika caught her breath before continuing with her yelling. "I am two whole worlds away from alright Maki!"

Only on rare occasions did Mika address Maki as Maki and not captain or Maki-san. And one of those rare occasions was today.

Before Maki could ask Mika anything further, Kagura stormed out of her room, her two side ponytails bobbing with her step. She was closely followed by an equally miffed Kazune.

"STOP YELLING SO MUCH! We were trying to sleep!" they both bellowed angrily.

"Sleep? Girls it's not even lunch time yet. Why would you be sleeping?" Maki inquired.

"Grandmother said that we would be traveling during the night. So we THOUGHT we would catch some sleep before then, but clearly NOT" Kagura explained.

"Oh shit" said Mika, loud enough for the girls to hear.

"Oi! Watch your mouth around them!" Maki chided, "Mika, just go and tell everyone that we are leaving tonight. I want all the accompanying shinobi to have a good rest before then"

"That's what I came to talk to you about! Why am I of all people going?" she implored Maki.

"Because you are a very capable and trustworthy shinobi" Maki replied. This was only half true. Mika was her most trusted friend and she was more than capable of fulfilling her duties, but the real reason she wanted her to come along was so that she could tease her and Yagura.

Mika didn't look very convinced as she left the temple to inform the others about the news. Maki walked the girls back to their room and tucked them back in to bed. Even though there were two of them, they both shared the same bed. It was a gigantic queen size bed with the softest pale blue comforter. Maki watched Kagura and Kazune get comfortable under the sheets before she drew all the curtains and blew out all the candles to make it seem more like night time.

"I'll wake you guys up at dusk okay?"

"Okay" the girls agreed.

Maki left in a hurry. She had to find Mika and make sure everything was set up at the Western Gate before dusk.

Kagura and Kazune didn't fall asleep just then. Kagura turned over towards Kazune and Kazune did the same. They smiled a knowing smile at one another.

"Kagura, what do you think the Land of Fire is like?" Kazune asked.

"I don't know. Maki said it's safe. But I hope there are other princesses for us to play with." Kagura sighed and smiled a dreamy smile. "Or maybe even some princes"

"Yeah! I hope they're like the princely characters in the shoujo manga we read." Kazune said, the sparkles of moe returning to her eyes briefly.

Kagura and Kazune slept a pleasant sleep. They both dreamed of the Land of Fire and of all the beautiful princesses and princes they would meet.

* * *

Mizuka lolled in her easy chair, thinking about what was to come the next day. They would most probably arrive in the Land of Fire by dawn if they took a maximum of two stops. She wanted to delay the trip as soon as possible, but the letter that Kazune had received made it clear that they had to arrive there by tomorrow.

Bloody Uchiha, she thought. Selfish bastards the lot of them.

She was lucky that her mother would be accompanying her daughters and herself to the Land of Fire. Without her support and wisdom, she would probably have died many years ago. She inwardly chuckled at the thought. Her own mother. Wise and supportive. It hurt her to admit it, but in truth, her mother was the only thing that could influence her daughters more than herself. Even though she was their mother, they always took their issues to Kazune. Mizuka felt hurt by this sometimes, even though it was a small thing, but she soon began to realize that her daughters and her mother were inseparable because of their bloodline bond, not because of their love.

Her subsequent thoughts of her clan's heritage brought sleep upon her weary body. Kazune came to check on her some time later. She smiled slightly when she saw her daughter resting so peacefully.

"Oh my daughter," she whispered to a sleeping Mizuka, "how glad I am that you do not bear our clan's burden."

With those words she left her daughter to her dreamless sleep and proceeded down the hall to her own room where she hoped to get some rest for herself.

Tomorrow they would reach the Land of Fire.

Tomorrow.

* * *

**Yea so here's some extra info:**

**Kazune was named after her grandmother. **

**Kagura is 10 years old; which makes Kazune 8 years old**

**Madara and Izuna won't appear for another chapter or two. **

**There is going to be ecchi in the future… at some point.**

**Yagura's name was taken from the fourth Mizukage, but they don't look similar at ALL.**

**Mika and Maki are not sisters. **

**Their clan name will be revealed later. (Mostly because I haven't figured out a good clan name yet)**


	2. Brave New World

**Yo new chapter I guess… **

**Updates should be once every two or three days yeah?**

**Thanks for reading!  
**

* * *

"My lovelies, time to leave." Kazune tapped her granddaughters awake.

The girls seemed reluctant to budge from their comfortable sleeping configurations and protection of their warm, fluffy comforter. Kagura was having a vivid dream about a magical bowl of gooseberries that never seemed to run out of gooseberries while Kazune was having a dream related to one of her shoujo manga. The subject was along the lines of 'Reverse harem vs harem: Haiku showdown!'

**(A/N: Haiku is a special Japanese poem)**

Shoujo manga was read by both the girls, but Kazune was the only one who took a deep interest. Kagura's 'moe' was reserved mainly for tasty food, breaking the rules, and adventure novels. She read shoujo occasionally, but got bored by it easily. Kazune on the other hand would light up every time her mother would return from the town with another few volumes of her favourite shoujo mangas. Her grandmother was the one who introduced her to shoujo in the first place.

It was almost three years ago when she set her eyes on her first ever shoujo manga...

* * *

_Kazune was lolling about the temple, pretending that the giant dragon statues were alive and holding her captive. She was waiting patiently for her prince to arrive and save her. In the middle of her remarkably detailed and skillful solo performance, her grandmother, hailing the same name as her, entered the temple with her personal guard. Her guard was a pretty girl with brown hair and blue eyes. She couldn't have been more that sixteen years old at the time. _

"_Grandmother!" Kazune wailed, "You're interrupting my game!" _

"_Oh? And what game is that, little Kazune?" her grandmother said cynically, not expecting any answer at all. _

"_I'm a princess who was captured by these mean dragons over here," she pointed to the two dragon statues framing the main hall, "and I'm currently waiting to be saved by my prince." _

"_So you enjoy games featuring helpless little girls?" her grandmother asked, almost challenging her. _

"_I'm not helpless," Kazune retorted, jumping down from the dragon's stone arms. "See? I jumped down all by myself. Didn't even have to call my sister." She put her arms on her hips and smiled triumphantly. _

_Her grandmother's guard, a younger Maki, chuckled at the gesture. _

"_I see, you aren't helpless" the older Kazune observed. She paused before reaching into her multi-layered kimono. From somewhere deep within the folds, she revealed a leather bound book. "This is called shoujo. You will read this from now on." She handed her granddaughter the book._

"_Shou-jo?" she pronounced. _

"_Yes. Shou-jo" her grandmother repeated. _

"_What is it?" _

"_Stories... Wonderful stories about pretty young girls and handsome princes and innocent love!" the older Kazune's eyes lit up for a split second, with what Maki could only assume, were the sparkles of moe._

_What the fuck. Kazune-sama. And… shoujo manga?, Maki thought._

_The younger Kazune's eyes also lit up at her grandmother's description of the contents of the leather book. Stories! She had only recently learned to read, but she had seen her sister reading some other type of manga, which mostly contained pictures. Her eyes illuminated with moe sparkles for the first time in her life. _

"_Thank you grandmother! Thank you so much!" she hugged the book to her tiny little body like it was her own child and skipped off to her bedroom to share her new book with her big sister. _

_The older Kazune smiled at her granddaughter as she skipped off cheerfully. _

"_So uh, Kazune-sama…," Maki began._

"_I used to write a lot of doujinshi before I became Queen, you know. What I just gave to Kazune was the first original shoujo manuscript I ever wrote." Kazune-sama said proudly. _

_Maki gave her an odd look. Kazune just glared at her._

"_What? Don't judge me." She had an 'I'm not listening to anything more you say to me' look on her face, so Maki just ignored it. _

_This job was going to be a lot harder than she thought it was._

* * *

"Oi! Come now girls. Wakey wakey…" Kazune prodded the both girls with her walking stick. Even though it was only before dusk, the room looked shrouded in darkness. Kazune hobbled to the curtains and swiped them aside with her walking stick.

"UGH. Grandmother!" Kagura groaned.

"Get up now. We're off to the Land of Fire. Don't you want to see all the handsome princes they have waiting for you there?"

At these words, Kazune jumped out of bed so suddenly, that Kagura almost yelped.

"Come on Kagura, let's go!" Kazune threw off the comforter, which mattered little to her now that princes had come in to the picture.

"One mention of princes and suddenly you're on a freaking sugar high!" Kagura muttered loud enough for her grandmother to hear.

"Oi! Watch your moth young lady! Where did you even come across such words?" her grandmother bellowed.

"Sorry!" Kagura uttered hurriedly. She folded her hands respectfully before adding: "I'm so very sorry grandmother!" Since she was still lying down, she looked incredibly odd while folding her hands in the air and babbling apologies.

Both Kazunes rolled their eyes at her seemingly sincere apology. She always over apologized when she used atrocious words so freely. Honestly, neither of the Kazunes minded much. It was only Mizuka who truly hated such words with all her being. A single malicious utterance, even if it was uttered by her mother, would be treated as heavenly sin. The perpetrators were usually made to pray for a stretch of at LEAST three days at the Holy Twin Dragon Shrine behind the main temple. Sometimes, if the offence was REALLY earth-shattering, Mizuka would make the offenders sacrifice some of their precious possessions as punishment. It wasn't surprising that she was more or less uptight all the time. Even around her daughters.

No.

Especially around her daughters.

"You still didn't answer the question young lady" Kazune remarked as her granddaughter heaved herself out of bed and shuffled towards her closet. A maid quickly stepped in her path and handed her a neatly folded yukata.

"Hime-sama, your morning wear" the maid bowed her head, turned, and left in a hurry. Kagura was definitely NOT a morning person. And considering that it wasn't morning at all, she was more of a force to be reckoned with.

"Hn. Ah yes, thanks" She acknowledged the maid, even though she was long gone. She heaved a sigh and looked at her grandmother. She raised an eyebrow at her daughter and sighed as well. She trudged across the room and unfolded the yukata for Kagura.

"Turn" she instructed.

Kagura obeyed and held her arms out, as she knew she'd probably be asked to. Her grandmother pulled the yukata on her and spun her around to tie it up.

"Stop hunching over!" Kazune chided.

Kagura straightened herself and glanced to her left. Her sister was already dressed up in her selected travel wear which was a simple, albeit shortened, yellow yukata, lighter in weight than the kimono they'd been wearing earlier, with a greyish belt and equally greyish knee high socks to match. Her hair had surprisingly remained intact. The two little buns on the sides of her head made her look younger than she really was. Which was pretty young.

"There" Kazune said as she dusted off Kagura's shoulders, even though there was no dust or dirt there.

"Thanks gran." Kagura mumbled before grabbing her bag. It contained mostly books and insignificant paraphernalia she had managed to find here and there around the temple. The most important thing in her bag was a small, highly concealable, curved kunai. It was of little physical value as compared to psychological.

The story behind it was not one as clichéd as 'It once belonged to her now deceased father, whom she revered since birth blah blah blah'. In fact, the reason she loved it so much was so utterly childish, that any adult would laugh twice in her face and then proceed to throw the kunai in to an infected pond after hearing the story behind it. Well any adult who didn't know her of course.

Her hand reached in to her bag to make sure the kunai was there. As soon as she felt it, she quickly grabbed it and gave it a slightly more than tight squeeze before letting it get mixed up with the paraphernalia again.

"What did you just call me?" Kazune demanded.

"Shit!" Kagura hissed under her breath before adding, "So sorry again grandmother!" she smiled as real a smile as she could manage in her current state of duress. She really wasn't a morning person, whether it was morning or not. I guess you could say she was just not a waking-up person. Although that would be equivalent of calling her dead because dead people are also, on the most basic level, non-waking-up people.

"You had better hope you're sorry…" Kazune added before leaving her granddaughters. "Meet us at the Western Gate!" she yelled back before leaving the temple.

**(A/N: It would be important to note that the rooms mentioned here are not like classical Japanese ones. They don't really have 'doors' (because it's a temple) and they're much more furbished)**

Kagura raised her chin lazily in acknowledgement, even though her grandmother was already out of sight.

"Woah sis! You look great!" the younger Kazune remarked as she heaved her bags towards the door. She had around two suitcases full of manga and hair accessories. Adding that with the suitcases for her clothes and other requirements, it added up to around… a lot of luggage.

Kagura glanced down at what she was wearing, her eyes adjusting to the brightness of the material. It was a maroonish yakuta with a white rose pattern and a peachy belt. When she raised her arms the sleeves fell back all the way to her forearm instead of just her elbows.

Too damn big, she thought disdainfully.

"It's a bit big though" Kazune tilted her head to one side, eyeing the beautiful yukata her sister was wearing.

"Exactly what I was thinking" Kagura said, her regular tone of voice slowly returning. "Let's go quick. Gran will probably send someone if we don't"

"Didn't she just warn you about acknowledging her like that" Kazune reminded her as they left the room with their necessities. Kagura was lugging one of Kazune's suitcases along with her own bag to even out the load a bit for both of them.

"Well she isn't here is she?" Kagura said, bitterness edging her words slightly. She didn't hate her grandmother, in fact, it was the complete opposite. She loved her too much to possibly hate her. But whenever she corrected her or chided her for doing something childish, she would get annoyed. She should have been allowed to do those things since she was a child, didn't she?

Kagura sighed for the umpteenth time. Kazune didn't say anything else till they arrived at the Western Gate.

"We're here!" she yelled to no one in particular.

A young man came towards them and took their bags.

"Princesses!" he bowed, "This way to your carriage." He guided them to the largest carriage, in the middle of all the rest.

It was grand in all ways: plated with painted steel contraptions around the edges, forming a fiery design, a sturdy metallic exterior painted dull green to blend with the forest terrain, proper sliding doors, also made of metal and a glass panel through which the outside could be viewed. The interior was just as grand, with soft velvety seats and a small side table attached. The carriage was long enough for a person to stretch their legs out on the opposite seat and wide enough for three adults to sit comfortably.

"Where's grandmother?" Kazune asked the young man before mounting the carriage.

"I'm afraid Kazune-sama will be traveling in a separate carriage, Kazune-sama." Kazune blushed slightly when the man addressed her as –Sama. She really preferred it if people just treated her like a normal girl, not a princess. Though she loved reading about it in stories and occasionally pretending, she didn't like being treated with such care by her own clansmen.

"Alright then. Mother's travelling with us, yeah?" Kagura casually inquired. She was still doddering slightly.

"That is correct" the man replied.

Kagura pushed passed her sister and flopped onto the carriage seats, preparing for another nap. Kazune huffed and followed her in.

* * *

Mizuka walked her mother to her carriage. Maki was off looking for some boy to be Mizuka's escort. Kazune had to use a considerable amount of arm strength to heave herself in to the carriage.

Damn am I getting old, she thought.

The horses were impatiently stamping their feet. They'd been standing for almost a whole hour. Mizuka noticed their distress and offered them both apples from her travel bag. She was saving them for her daughters but her daughters weren't as deserving as these horses that stood before her.

"Let's get a move on!" Mizuka heard her mother's bellowing from within the carriage.

"Just because you're ready doesn't mean everyone else is too mother!" Mizuka yelled back.

She heard a few incoherent grumbles before the sound of footsteps muffled them to a dull vibration. The accompanying kunoichi were here, most probably. Maki's second in command lead them. They divided themselves evenly between each carriage as ordered. Maki was loitering around Mizuka's own carriage.

"Maki! The old hag wants you!" Mizuka called out.

"Oi! I heard that!" Kazune yelled from her carriage.

Mizuka rolled her eyes and headed off towards Maki. She was busy chatting with a young man, perhaps one of the very few male shinobi who would be accompanying them. He looked more or less alright – scruffy dark hair and bluish eyes. Mizuka tapped an animated Maki on the shoulder and looked at her with her darkest glare.

"Get a move on." She hissed. She wasn't particularly annoyed with Maki's behaviour, but she didn't want to wait for her mother to get into a fit. Besides that, she enjoyed tormenting people just to get a reaction. Kagura had inherited this trait from her. Maki cowered slightly before dashing back to Kazune-sama's carriage. The boy was still standing by her carriage.

"May I help you?" Mizuka asked him.

"Not at all Mizuka-sama. I have been assigned to escort you." He replied curtly. He moved out of Mizuka's way as she mounted the carriage.

"What's your name?" Mizuka called out before the man had a chance to seat himself with the driver up front.

"Yagura" he said. He climbed up next to the carriage driver, awaiting their leave.

"OPEN THE GATES!" a stout woman (whom Yagura nearly mistook for a man) bellowed near the front of the procession. The gates were hauled open by two buff men who were standing outside. The kunoichi in front lead the way. The navigator sat in a hand pulled carriage along with another kunoichi. Behind the center carriage, Kazune and Maki impatiently sat. Kazune's butt was already beginning to hurt.

She heard a chorus and harmony of neighs and grunts of the horses, signaling that they were on their way. She sighed and leaned back against a fluffy cushion. Maki sat opposite her. The Gates passed their carriage on either side. Kazune looked at them with an indifferent look. They'd be returning in a week or maybe two if the Uchiha were agreeable. Not a very big deal.

Kagura and Kazune on the other hand were marveling at the open gates. Kagura, who was still resting, was woken up by an ecstatic Kazune. She pointed to the open gates and Kagura's gaze followed. As soon as she saw them, she shot up, her eyes pulled themselves open and took in the never-before-seen sight. This would be the first time they were leaving home. The land they would be crossing through would be their own, yet they had never seen it before.

Mizuka visibly smirked at her daughters while they ogled at the landscape. The western terrain was more or less flat and obstacle-free. A few small hills lined the horizon in the front of the procession, and far beyond them, shrouded in mist, was a tall snowcapped peak. It had no name, but it was a landmark for the borderland of the Land of Fire. Even though the sun was setting, the land was glowing softly in the lasting rays.

* * *

They were travelling for what seemed an age, but to the two Sapphire princesses, time was meaningless. Their eyes scanned every inch of the passing landscape with keen eyes and pointed scrutiny, as if they were collectors inspecting a rare diamond. Every now and then, a farmer or traveler would stain the plain like little black dots on a grey dress. A herd of cows suddenly appeared in Kagura's periphery. She swerved her head to the opposite door of the carriage and called to her sister.

"Look! Look! It's like in your manga!" Kagura jumped up and down excitedly.

"Only it's real life!" Kazune and Kagura had now synchronized their fanatical jumping. Mizuka eyed the carriage's bottom when it creaked slightly with her daughters' weights.

"Mother, when will we stop?" Kazune paused her jumping and turned to her mother. "I want to see the place! And walk on the grass and pluck the flowers and put some in my hair!" a faint sparkle of moe flashed in her eyes at her mention of hair.

"A good while longer I'm afraid." Mizuka inspected her nails before casually reaching behind her.

At first, her daughters saw nothing, but when her arm returned, it returned with a pouch about the size of Kagura's head.

"Don't tell gran, but I got you some sweets" Kagura and Kazune both smiled wide open mouthed smiles. They both took several handfuls each and proceeded to stuff themselves. Kagura was engulfing the sweets by the handful. To Mizuka, she looked more animal than human, let alone a princess.

"Thanks mother!" Kagura said. Although it sounded more like "Shankghs mohgruh"

Kazune chuckled at her sister's unladylike action. Mizuka simple rolled her eyes. Since no one was directly in sight, it didn't matter much to her whether or not her daughter presented proper etiquette or not.

* * *

Meanwhile Kazune's butt ache was growing considerably worse. Since Kagura and Kazune were standing in their carriage, the turbulence of the ride didn't affect them as much as it did her. Even Mizuka, who was used to riding horses bareback, didn't have it as tough as her. Who could blame he woman if she had a sensitive butt after all.

A grumpier scowl than usual was painted across the canvas that was Kazune's aged face. Maki was swaying side to side slowly with the movements of the carriage, not paying much attention to anything, least of all her lady's butt ache. A small candle in the corner of the carriage, behind Kazune, lit up Maki and cast eerie, periodically moving shadows on the screen behind.

"Maki." Kazune said. Maki made no action to show that she had even heard what Kazune-sama said.

"MAKI!" she roared considerably louder this time. Although what Maki heard was more of "MAKHEY" than "MAKI".

"Yes Kazune-sama I already heard you the first time." Maki leaned forward and rested her forearms on her legs, her back hunched over. She cracked her knuckles and clasped her hands together in front of her.

"Well you could've nodded your head or something." Kazune mumbled loud enough for Maki to hear.

Maki shrugged her lady's comment off. "Well what is it then?"

"Listen here" Kazune was suddenly more serious than ever before. She leaned forward in the same fashion as Maki before continuing. "That letter I gave you. Do you have it on you?" Her voice was down several decibels. Maki had never seen her so serious and quiet before. She nodded slowly and then more fluidly.

"Give it here" Kazune motioned towards herself. Maki pulled out the scroll from her bag and handed it over without a word. Hopefully the old hag would be too preoccupied to notice that she had opened it, albeit after the seal was already broken. Maybe she could just say that it fell and just happened to roll open?

She inwardly cursed herself before bringing her attention back to Kazune-sama.

She hadn't made any attempt to open the letter. Instead she was simply gazing outside at the ever darkening sky. Dark. It suddenly dawned on her that it was nighttime. Why were they travelling at night anyways?

"Uh… Kazune-sama…" she began. She hesitated before asking. What if Kazune-sama laughed in her face? No. She wouldn't do that would she? She quickly mustered up the courage to ask. After all, ever since she had trained to become Kazune-sama's personal guard, she was told that there were no such thing as stupid questions. So she might as well give it a shot.

"…Why did you decide to travel at night?" she finished.

"That" Kazune looked back at her, "is the most interesting thing you've asked me all day"

* * *

Mizuka was beginning to nod off every now and then, despite her daughters' frivolousness. The sudden jerks of the carriage shook her awake every ten minutes or so. Even though she had taken a mild rest in the afternoon, she was still weary. An interesting thing was that she always seemed to be more tired and exhausted than her own mother, who was considerably older than her by a several decades. She assumed it was genetic, but that notion soon passed after her mother explained her clan's inherited bloodline trait. It was called Kekkei Genkai by most shinobi. Evidently because she did not inherit it, her body was weaker than normal. She didn't mind much. It was a burden, as described by her mother, she should be happy not to bear. Her daughters however, did possess the Kekkei Genkai, although currently latent.

As soon as they came of age, it would awaken. That was the day she dreaded most of all. The day her daughters would cease to be her daughters. Even though she would technically still be their mother, she would play no leading role in their youth or growth. That would all be managed by HER mother, who also possessed the Kekkei Genkai. Or at least, part of it. Mizuka didn't know what she meant by having 'part of a Kekkei Genkai', but at this point she really didn't care.

Kagura and Kazune were leaning against each other. Kazune was reading her manga by candlelight while Kagura had her head buried in her bag. Mizuka was half afraid she would choke herself or suffocate.

Mizuka pulled her legs up on to the seat and leaned against the side of the carriage. She wanted to take her mind off the Land of Fire, the Uchiha, and the Senju. It was all so annoying for her. As Queen, she was directly involved in all matters concerning her clan and her lands.

It was just her bad luck that the Senju's alliance was wearing thinner and thinner as time passed by. Those bloody Senju only cared about land and money for their infinite number of wars. They constantly bullied her clan and her kunoichi for things. A few months ago, she had put her foot down. No more she had said. No more.

The Uchiha weren't as associated with her clan as the Senju, but they were going to be. They had invited her family to the Land of Fire for the leap year peace festival. This would be their first time meeting the Uchiha face to face. The stories she had heard coming from the mouths of the Senju were enough to give her nightmares. That being said, she wanted to keep a respectful distance from them and the Land of Fire.

* * *

Kazune leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. Her right index finger beckoned Maki towards her. Maki leaned forward, her eyes filled with caution and wonder.

"The reason we are travelling at night is" Kazune paused for dramatic effect, "So we can reach in time for the morning parade" Her voice didn't waver or fluctuate at all. Maki was looking at her with her usual 'Has-she-finally-cracked?' look.

"Uh, why is it so important that we reach in time for it, Kazune-sama?" Maki asked slowly.

"The morning parade held on the first day of the leap year peace festival is a mandatory event for all the clans in the Land of Fire. Other lands such as the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning do not have such a policy." She explained to her somewhat dimwitted lackey.

"Ohhhhhh" Maki pretended to understand. "Uh, why is that important, again?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

Kazune pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

What an idiot, she thought.

"It's important because we will be acquainted with all the clans who want to exploit us, and or kill us. The elemental nations were only recently established. Our clan, although small, resides on the border between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire. This proves to be a big inconvenience for us." Kazune explained in great detail.

"So we belong to neither, yet to both?" Maki half concluded half asked.

"Something like that. Since the Land of Water has established a somewhat stable configuration in its political matters, they don't care much about us. The Land of Fire, however, is still in turmoil, especially with both the Senju and the Uchiha living in the same vicinity. They will try to form alliances wherever they can, with whoever they can. This is why our attendance is key"

"Wait are you saying that since attendance is mandatory, the Senju and Uchiha are going to be in the SAME PLACE?! AT ONCE?!" Maki was beginning to panic.

"No. The Senju are the only exception to this rule. In fact, they have been prohibited from attending the festival when it is held at the Uchiha compound. The same goes for the Uchiha when it is held at the Senju's compound."

Maki breathed a deep sigh of relief. That was one thing she really didn't want to see: Uchiha and Senju trying to be NICE to each other for the sake of peace.

"Wait" Maki began, "why would other clan's even bother to ally with us? Don't they know about our female preference?"

Kazune felt insulted at her subordinated comment. "Are you insinuating that our female preferences would make us mediocre allies?" she challenged.

"Well according to the other Land of Fire clans, yes." Maki replied. Kazune was a bit taken aback with her reply. Apparently her challenge had little effect on her guard.

"You are only half right about that." Kazune finally said. "Some of the stronger clans know of our clan's true bloodline heritage. They are the ones to watch out for when we reach the Land of Fire."

"You mean the Kekkei Genkai?" Maki asked. Her voice was leveled – not particularly loud, yet not particularly soft, but Kazune immediately flinched at her words.

"Shush!" she chided. "Not so bloody loud Maki!"

"I wasn't being loud…" Maki muttered.

"Don't speak those words so freely."

"What words? Kekkei Genkai? Why?" Maki asked. Her voice was considerably softer now, even though there was little need for it.

"Yes those words" Kazune pinched the bridge of her nose again.

"Do we even have a bloodline trait?" Maki suddenly realized that although their clan was powerful in the past, most of the main families were wiped out by the Uchiha-Senju alliance. Their segment was the only surviving one. "I mean, we supposedly had one before, but didn't all the main families perish in a bloodbath?" Maki added soon after.

"Just because the main families perished does not in any way mean that we do not still possess a bloodline trait" Kazune seethed.

"We still have it!?" Maki was considerably more interested than before. Her clan still possessed its legendary power! This was definitely something for the gossip tables.

"SHUSH!" Kazune bellowed. "Yes we still have it. Although considerably diluted, we still possess it." Kazune breathed. A huge weight seemed to lift off her ancient shoulders. She had told no one of her clan's surviving Kekkei Genkai other than her own daughter, until now that is.

Maki was afraid to ask anything more. But hadn't she already made herself in to more of an idiot than she ever would? What was there to lose by asking a simple question?

"What…what is it?" Maki asked nervously.

Kazune sat up and looked at her with condescending eyes. She had already revealed more than she should have to her lackey. Revealing any more at this point would serve no purpose. Maki knew what she needed to know – Her clan still held legendary power. Other clan's wanted it for themselves. They were going to do anything to get it.

"That, Maki, is on a need-to-know basis"

"Well I find myself in need of knowing!" Maki wailed. "PLEEEEEEEASE?" she implored her lady.

She made use of her most innocent eyes and curled lip to indirectly beg her lady for an answer. Kazune smirked at her subordinate's use of childish methods. She teased Maki by appearing to be in a state of deep thought and internal conflict. However her reply was neither deep nor conflicted.

"No."

* * *

**Ya so like this chapter just highlights Kagura's and Kazune's personalities and inexperience. It also reveals the reasons for them traveling at night, and of course more mentions of the Kekkei Genkai. One thing to note would be that Mizuka is a clan native, not an outsider. The reasons for her not having the Kekkei Genkai like her mother and daughters will probably be revealed two chapters after this one. **

**I'm not sure whether I should introduce Mads and his bro in the next chapter, or the one after. **

**Bleh anyways, **

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. The Land of Fire

There was no light for the procession to see by as the sky turned black for its midnight hour. The scouting kunoichi were undeterred by this. They shot through the tree tops at lightning speed, barely registering as a blur of blue in the eyes of the night owls and other nocturnal creatures. They were already several hundred yards ahead of the main group, despite being deployed only moments earlier by a drowsy Kazune-sama.

The terrain had suddenly changed from an open plain to a thick forest, which prompted the procession to make it's one and only stop.

The procession gathered itself into a circle, with all the supply carts forming the boundary line, and the shinobi tents forming a concentric circle within. At the center were two huge tents, one for the Queen and princesses, the other for Kazune. Kazune always preferred sleeping separately from the rest of her family. Even in her youth, which seemed an eternity ago, she slept in a separate room from her sister and parents.

Kazune was helped out of her carriage by several kunoichi. Two held each of her arms, two her waist and hips, another held the door open, another brought forward a stepped ladder for her to descend by, and several others stood by watching.

"Stop helping me and get the bloody tents up!" Kazune bellowed to her lackeys. They all had this annoying idea that she was an old frail woman who needed at least five shinobi accompanying her everywhere to 'ensure her safety'. She couldn't blame them much, considering that she had successfully hid her Kekkei Genkai from a majority of the remaining people of her clan. In fact, she could easily defeat a large number of enemies in a very short amount of time with her half of the Kekkei Genkai. Even without it, she was quite formidable in ninjutsu. Little could be said for her taijutsu, which had become considerably inferior with her ever deteriorating physical stamina and hardiness. Old age had not been quite kind to her.

The kunoichi were frolicking around their tents, most probably exchanging gossip. What entertained the youth these days always baffled Kazune. Evidently gossip was the most popular activity of all the shinobi, males included. In fact, since there were so few of them, most of the gossip revolved around them. Kazune was always amused by the objectifying of the male shinobi by the kunoichi.

Maki was moving from group to group of gossiping shinobi, yelling at each of them to get into their tents or do a sensory sweep of the area or stand guard somewhere or other. Most complied, others rolled their eyes, others stuck their tongues out at her turned back. Kazune's amusement was replaced by annoyance.

"Are you going to just stand there? Get a move on!" she yelled.

The other kunoichi quickly scattered, diving into their tents, or scrambling towards the perimeter of the camp to do a sensory sweep. Others, who were considerably braver and more daunting than the rest, leisurely strolled to the supply carts to stand guard. Kazune huffed and headed to her daughter's and granddaughter's tent. Mizuka was tucking her daughter's in to bed as Kazune entered the tent. Kagura and Kazune were already half asleep when they had descended their carriage and were lead to their tent by Yagura, so it was obvious that they fell asleep as soon as their heavy heads hit their pillows. Mizuka looked up at her mother with a small smile.

"Only three hours." Kazune warned her softly. Her eyes darted to her granddaughters and then back to her daughter. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were heavy. Kazune sighed and wrapped her frail arms around her daughter's waist, her head rested on her chest.

"It's all going to be fine, you know. Tajima has agreed to keep us safe from the war and bloodshed."

"And what good is his word to me, mother?" Mizuka breathed, completely drained of spirit. "He's as much a tyrant as Butsuma."

"You're not wrong, but you haven't even met the man. He's won't be as bad as Butsuma was to us. Trust me" Kazune looked up at her daughter and smiled. Mizuka rolled her eyes at her.

"You always say that."

"Say what?"

"'Trust me'" Mizuka quoted her mother's words, adding quotation marks in the air for effect.

Kazune chuckled softly. It was a known fact that she often requested for other's trust far too often. So many people had put their trust in her, sometimes she lost track of all the promises she had made in haste. Maki kept a record of all of them – at least the ones she was told about – in a little notebook that she hid inside a secret pocket in her shirt. If Kazune kept it on her person, it was kept inside her kimono's belt, where no one would dare to look, even when searching her corpse when her time came.

Kazune turned and headed for the tent's exit. Just before she left she looked over her shoulder and regarded her weary daughter.

"Shall Maki watch the girls? You can get some rest if you wish."

"A generous offer. But I am not physically in need of rest if that is what you are concerned about. My body is completely fine. It's just my head, and the weight of all the burdens it carries." She sighed, plopping herself down onto a stool, her dress falling in a mess all about her.

Kazune sighed in defeat. She often forgot how strong her daughter truly was. She may have been born without the Kekkei Genkai, but that only motivated her to become an even better warrior. Her lightning style jutsu was unmatched by any and all kunoichi of the clan, dare she say even the Uchiha shinobi. Day and night she would practice. Even when her body was ready to collapse from exhaustion, she would simply brush herself off and stand up straight, ready for more. Mizuka's extensive use of the lightning in all areas of battle including medical support made her a very strong kunoichi. Mizuka always thought that her physical weakness would make her look weak in her clansmen's eyes, so she worked as much as she could to hone her ninjutsu – especially techniques which put less strain on her body. Her perseverance in this training is what Kagura and Kazune looked up to.

"Don't let the morning trouble you. I will meet the other clan heads in your place." Kazune stated simple as she began to leave the tent.

"No." Mizuka said suddenly, just as Kazune's left foot had stepped out of the tent. "I will meet them myself."

"No need to force yourself, love." Kazune was trying hard to reason with her daughter. "I'll do it."

"No you won't_. I_ am this clans Queen,which means only_ I _can address the others as leaders. They will learn to respect me as Queen. I won't have my mother take my place just because I am a superficially useless woman." Mizuka ended her speech with a huff. Her voice was quiet as she spoke, but it strained on the words, as if she was painfully reminding herself of the cold hard truth.

Kazune was more than taken aback at her daughter's quiet outburst. Usually Mizuka stood on the sidelines as her mother managed everything from clan affairs, alliances, governance, kunoichi initiation, to wedding ceremonies. She was never really motivated to do anything for the clan, even after honing her lightning jutsu skills for so long. Only now did Kazune realize that although the clan respected Mizuka as their Queen, they did not respect her as their leader. Mizuka was hoping to change that at sunrise, when they arrived for the morning parade in the Uchiha territory at the edge of the Land of Fire.

Kazune sighed again and left the tent without another word. A smile reached her lips but she hid it with a cough. Mizuka was truly making an effort. No doubt her daughter's would see the difference in her spirit as well. Only time would tell, however, if her spirit would be enough to earn a leader's respect in her clan.

Kazune headed for the tent directly adjacent to her daughter's. Maki was already sprawled comfortably on her mattress when her lady entered.

"Yo Kazune-sama" Maki acknowledged with a casual nod of her head.

The sounds from outside had been reduced to the occasional whisper or squelching of boot clad feet in the damp mud. The wind whipped up at random intervals which subsequently caused several loose tent flaps to fly open, letting in a gust of freezing midnight air.

"Can you at least _attempt_ to be respectful? Kazune breathed. She had had enough of Maki's insubordination, but decided to leave her be. The after effects of travelling had begun to creep on her when she descended her carriage and her back was already aching more than her butt, which was definitely saying something because she had never had a butt ache so severe since the one time during her Kekkei Genkai training when she received a powerful knee to the butt from her sister. The bruise lasted for months and the aches still haunted her dreams. All the painkillers in the world wouldn't help her then, and they wouldn't help her now either.

"Well no one's around" Maki whispered. She knew of her lady's agonizing butt aches. There was literally no jutsu in existence that could possible numb the pain, according to her at least.

Maki set herself straight on her mattress before nodding off, her mind plagued with disturbing thoughts of her lady's butt aches.

The silence of the still night air was broken by the rustling of leaves in the high branches of stout trees. The scouting party had reached it designated limit. They crouched in formation along a series of adjacent tree branches and they were to stay there for a full three hours. After the three hours their instructions were to travel ahead to the border of the Land of Fire where an Uchiha envoy was supposedly waiting to receive them. If all went well, the procession would reach the border exactly three hours after the scouting party.

The leader of the scouting party was none other than Mika.

She was feeling drowsy, but no more than everyone else was. They barely had a moment to catch their breaths before Kazune-sama began to bark orders left and right. Mika decided that now would be a good time to do just that.

"Everyone relax for a while. I'll be on look out." Mika waved a dismissive hand at her subordinates and hopped a few branches ahead to get a better look at the surrounding forest floor. Another kunoichi, more or less the same age as her, appeared on a branch just a few feet behind.

"Let me join you." She said cheerily. She must've been one of the few who got some rest on the journey in one of the extra carriages. Her hair was pale blonde in colour and fell stick straight to just above her chin. A headband with a steel plate bearing the clan's symbol – a dragon crest – was tied securely around her forehead.

**(A/N: The clan symbol is similar to the Mortal Kombat logo) **

"Tell me, Mika-san, what do you think the Uchiha will be like?" the blonde kunoichi asked.

"I have no idea. The Senju say that they are bloodthirsty patriarchs. But they only said that to put us off from forming an alliance with them. If they were patriarchs, we wouldn't so much as _think _of them, let alone associate and form alliances with them. What about you?"

The blonde shrugged, but in the darkness of the night, Mika didn't see it. After a long while, the blonde kunoichi spoke:

"I think they will be very… hospitable."

"Hospitable? _That_ is the word you come up with?" Mika chuckled softly, so as not to disturb the silence of the forest.

"Well what was I supposed to say?!" Mika chuckled louder this time.

"You're Haruhi, right? I didn't know you were dispatched with us"

"Yes. I'm a relatively new recruit, so Kazune-sama thought it would be a good idea to send me scouting to gain experience." Haruhi explained. "But please, Haru is just fine"

"Isn't Haru a boy's name?" Mika joked.

"True. True" Haruhi nodded understandingly. "But I don't think anyone is going to mistake me for a boy, Mika-san" She added, motioning to her bosom, which Mika noticed was the most ample one she'd seen in her entire lifetime. She laughed heartily at Haruhi.

"No, I don't think that either" Mika managed to spout a few words in between her laughs. After composing herself, she relaxed on her tree branch, sitting with her legs hanging off on either side, as if she was riding a horse. "Well then, _Haru_, we're stuck here for two and a half hours" She paused for a deep breath.

"So?" Haruhi asked.

"What do you supposed we do to pass the time?"

Haruhi furrowed her eyebrows in contemplation. Aside from a few kunai, tensile strings, and paper scrolls, she had nothing of interest in her satchel. She considered taking out a scroll and drawing something or other, but that would provide no entertainment for Mika-san.

"Well…" she began uncertainly, "…we could…braid each other's hair?" Mika rolled her eyes.

The time passed faster than Mika and Haruhi thought it had. Two hours had passed since they had stopped, however the current hour seemed to be going twice as slow.

Mika and several of the other kunoichi were beginning to nod off. Mika almost fell out of her tree. If it wasn't for Haruhi's sharp reflexes, her ankle may have sprained, thus jeopardizing the whole mission.

Haruhi was still wide awake. And if it wasn't for her shrewdness earlier in the journey (in getting some extra sleep), the entire scouting party would have been dead.

Time seemed to slow down momentarily as a kunai entered Haruhi's periphery vision. In the dimness of the night, she barely made out the faint outline of a paper scroll dangling from a hole in the kunai's handle. Without even thinking, she let all her muscles relax, losing her balance on the tree branch. Just before she fell off the branch completely, she extended her hand, grabbing the kunai-cum-paper bomb and hurtling it to the ground. As soon as she let go of the kunai's handle, she frantically grabbed upwards in the hopes that her hand would somehow meet a branch, allowing her a quick escape from the following explosion.

The explosion roused the entire scouting party. They jerked awake and out of their drowsy demeanors, immediately readying themselves for battle. After checking herself for any mild wounds or injuries, Haruhi jumped down to the ground, exactly where she had aimed the kunai. The small blade was still there, embedded in the soft soil, albeit scratched and battered from the blast.

"Paper bombs incoming!" she heard a nearby kunoichi yell. In response, several kunoichi headed for cover while a few others launched themselves forward, hoping to find the source of all the kunai. Haruhi ducked as another kunai whizzed past her ear, nearly cutting it off. She grabbed the kunai which she had put into the ground only moments earlier and brought it up to her face for a quick inspection.

_Asbestos fiber grip, tungsten casting. The paper looks like it was made from reed strips – at least from the remaining bits. _

She stuffed the kunai in to her pocket and headed back to the main group. All the remaining kunoichi were scattered about the trees. Mika was standing behind the same tree she was perched upon only moments earlier, eyeing the edge of the trees with a careful eye. Haruhi headed straight for her.

"Mika-san!" Haruhi yelled out. Another kunai flew past her, embedding itself into the tree in front of her. She dashed up the first tree on her left to avoid the explosion. Soon enough, the enemy would run out of kunai and resort to coming out in to the open. They just had to wait it out until they revealed themselves. So far none of the kunoichi had suffered any fatal wounds. Mika wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Haruhi rolled on the ground to avoid any other paper bombs and kunai. She got up and found herself standing right beside her leader.

"Their kunai are made of fire proof materials – Asbestos, tungsten, and reed strips for the paper." Haruhi handed Mika the kunai she had managed to acquire.

"Enemies of the Uchiha. Probably from the Earth Country. Resort to using water and lightning style combinations."

"I thought lightning was weak to earth style?"

"There is a possibility of them also being from the Land of Water"

"Understood"

Mika stayed in her place behind the tree as Haruhi rushed off towards to sources of the kunai.

Mika was a sensory type kunoichi, and her abilities were formidable. However, it was slightly inconvenient as in order for her to use her abilities to the fullest, she had to remain very still. In the heat of battle, this was perhaps her biggest disadvantage.

Nevertheless, she began her sensing by forming the horse hand seal. Lightning sparked around her as she initiated her jutsu. It was truly one of a kind.

It worked in a lightning discharge mechanism in which lightning was first shot out in all directions in all planes, causing all the particles on the air to ionize. The ionized particles would then form chains with each other, the ends of which met the jutsu caster in lightning discharges. If any of these chains was disturbed by movement or use of jutsu, the caster would easily be able to pin point their location as well as their chakra type.

Moments later, she had the exact locations of all seven enemy shinobi – all of which possessed water type chakra cloaks. All of them had now surrounded the kunoichi scouting party on all sides.

Mika smiled.

If they had been cloaked with earth type chakra, her lightning style wouldn't' be of much use now would it?

Creating a virtual map of the landscape in her mind, she pin pointed the center of the circle that had been formed by the surrounding enemy shinobi. Currently, she had no way of communicating with the other kunoichi. A few who were nearby saw her stance and quickly retreated, rushing off to inform the others of their impending victory.

Mika readied herself. She closed her eyes and made the ram, horse, and tiger hand seals in quick succession. With the enemies' locations in her mind, she accumulated lightning chakra in her hands. She extended her arms fully above her head and kept her hands loose. The chakra kept building itself layer upon layer in her hands. She concentrated all her energy into her hands, causing them to glow bluish white. Several minutes past. The echoing sounds of splashing water and booming thunder followed by the shriek of lightning filled the battle ground.

As soon as Mika felt that she had accumulated enough, she released all the chakra in her hands and let her arms drop to her sides. The chakra hung in a ball where her hands were just moments before. As soon as she opened her eyes, she uttered two words which were to initiate her attack.

"_Meteor Storm" _

The chakra began to change its form. From the ball of blue light, seven beams launched themselves in seven diverging directions, each ray headed straight for an enemy shinobi. The level to which she had charged her chakra was only enough to paralyze them, but that would be enough for the time being.

Seven cries of pain were followed by an eerie silence.

Mika fell to the ground in exhaustion. She was already tired before this battle even began and on top of that she was forced to use her Meteor Storm with only a small amount of chakra. She was such a fool for not scanning the area for enemies. She was the leader of a _scouting _party and she had left out the most important function of it which was to actually _scout_.

Moments passed and Mika still lay still on the ground. However, her eyes were still open, scanning the forest floor for any passing kunoichi. She sighed and rolled on to her back, finding it more comfortable as her kunai and other ninja tools weren't jabbing into her side.

Muffled voices filled the empty silence of the battle ground. Haruhi rushed over to Mika.

"How many casualties?" Mika asked a concerned looking Haruhi.

"None. Are you okay? We need to restore your chakra."

"We need to regroup. What happened to the enemy shinobi?" Mika lifted herself up with a groan. She was tired and functioning with an empty chakra reserve, but she was the leader and everyone expected her to bark out orders and make sure everyone was doing what everyone was supposed to be doing, so she had to more or less force herself to get up with her own willpower.

Another kunoichi knelt by Mika's side, giving her a support on her back with her hand. With her other hand she lifted a lambskin water container to Mika's lips. Mika gulped several mouthfuls before sighing in relief.

"I've sent out a few kunoichi to retrieve them as well as pick up any stray kunoichi" Haruhi explained to a now energized Mika. It was strange how water could so easily rejuvenate those with chakra deficiency.

"Good. Confiscate all their weapons and ninja tools as well as any personal belongings. We will have to carry them to the Land of Fire to be dealt with."

"Should we send a raven to the main procession?" one of the kunoichi asked.

"No." Mika didn't elaborate her answer at all, much to the annoyance of the other kunoichi. Mika had only recently been promoted to second in command of the main shinobi force of their clan. Not only that, she was young and inexperienced. Rumours said that her promotion was a show of favouritism from the first in command, Maki. Of course this was just meaningless gossip.

Soon enough, the incapacitated bodies of seven Water Country shinobi lay before Mika. Their ninja tools and other belongings had been sorted and stored in empty satchels. The strongest of the kunoichi stood at their heads, ready to carry them off to the Land of Fire at Mika's command.

There were five men and two women among them. After a few minutes of scrutiny, Mika huffed and set a hand on her hip, stretching the other one over her head.

"Let's go. We're already running late"

With that, the buff kunoichi heaved the bodies of the Water Country shinobi over their shoulders like sacks of rice.

Three hours had passed since the main procession had stopped. The time had come to move on, towards the Land of Fire.  
The kunoichi set themselves to taking down and stowing away the tents while the royal family sat waiting in their carriages. Maki was busy running around, making sure they didn't forget anything or leave anyone behind.

As soon as the carts and carriages were loaded, the procession organized itself and set out on its way.

Kagura and Kazune had both got a good night's rest and were now more cheery and awake than ever before. Their eyes scanned the darkness of the forest. It was as if a magical force was at work – first vast, endless plains, and then suddenly a dark and sinister forest. Even though it was night, the light from the carriage's candle gave them enough light to observe the foliage that brushed against edges of the carriages and carts.

Kazune and Maki sat in silence through most of the journey. Maki occasionally sighed while Kazune occasionally grumbled. Her butt ache had reduced in severity quite considerably, however she was now beginning to experience the after effects of sleeping on a flat and rather uncomfortable mattress. Maki sat leisurely, an elbow resting on her knee, propping her face up with her hand.

Suddenly, the carriage jerked to a stop. If it wasn't for Maki, Kazune would have fallen off the carriage bench. Voices were chattering outside. A few shouts rose above the others. There was obviously some commotion or other.

"What in the hell?" Maki asked to no one in particular.

"Go outside and see what all the trouble is" Kazune commanded.

Maki hopped off the carriage and made her way to the front of the procession.

"What the hell is going on?" she yelled in the general direction of a crowd of kunoichi.

"There was a battle here." A voice among the crowd replied.

"Let me see" Maki pushed her way through and beheld the landscape in front of her.

There were puddles of water in depressions created by powerful lightning style attacks. The burning smell in the air reminded Maki of only one thing – Mika's Meteor Shower. If she had resorted to the Meteor Shower, she was obviously desperate, or impatient. Maki was hoping for it to be the latter.

"Did you find any bodies?" Maki asked the crowd.

"No" one of them said

"Then let's be on our way. Mika used her Meteor Shower which means that the scouting party that Kazune-sama sent obviously ran into some enemy shinobi. We'll catch up to them by morning." Maki waved her hands at the crowd of kunoichi, dismissing them back to the carts and carriages.

Maki jumped on to Kazune's carriage as it began to move.

"What happened?"

"Scouting party met with enemies"

"Any bodies?"

"No"

Kazune paused, taking in the new information. Only two possibilities came to Kazune's mind – either the Uchiha had betrayed them, or an enemy of the Uchiha had mistaken them for Uchiha shinobi and attacked on sight.

"Good" Kazune said after a while.

Mika and the rest of the scouting party arrived at the border of the Land of Fire a full hour and a half before the sun was set to rise. There was a gigantic mountain towering over them on the left and in front of them was a monstrous wall. At the foot of the wall was a single man dressed in black with red armour plates covering his arms and chest. He held a flag with a red and white crest.

Uchiha.

He had the classic raven hair and pale skin of an Uchiha. His hair was short and spiky. A single lock of hair emerging from behind his left ear fell below his shoulders.

The man looked slightly surprised when he saw only kunoichi approaching him. Seeing a few of them carrying seemingly lifeless bodies, he rushed forward to help. Mika put an arm on his chest before he took a step further.

"Enemies of yours." She gestured at the kunoichi and they responded by dropping the enemy shinobi on the ground without so much as a hint of concern.

"Ah. Alright then." The Uchiha said uncertainly. He went back to the wall and sneaked through a narrow door. Moments later he emerged with more men. They carried the Water Country shinobi in to the wall while the envoy motioned for the scouting party to enter through a larger, grander archway.

They met with several other Uchiha men who greeted them curtly. Mika conversed with the envoy before leading the scouting party further in to the Land of Fire.

The envoy took his place back outside the wall, anticipating the arrival of the main procession of their future allies. He wanted to see if the stories of their clan being an 'all woman' clan were true. Even though that was technically impossible, people said that only women were allowed to become shinobi in their clan, and that men were usually treated with malice. It was no wonder that they had failed to hold any alliances in the past, considering their ideals.

The rest of the journey was cut through swiftly by Maki's direct orders. The procession dashed through the forest landscape once they found a straight-cut path, presumably made by the Uchiha. Kazune was impressed by Maki, but she didn't let on.

Mizuka was surprisingly calm. They were more or less already under the jurisdiction of the Uchiha, now that their procession was headed straight for them, but she wasn't worried much. Perhaps her elevating speech had not only reassured her mother, but also herself, of her determination to secure the Uchiha alliance.

Kagura and Kazune were still ignorant, however.

The sun's light peeked over the monstrous mountain, giving the sky a dark cerulean hue. The young princesses could now see the landscape clearly. They marveled at every tree, every stone, every grain of soil. Mizuka chuckled at their pointing fingers and consistent "OOos" and "Aaahs"

It was only an hour later when they arrived at the border of the Land of Fire. The procession was halted by the Uchiha envoy and Maki was forced to go up front and meet with him.

"Welcome! What may I call you?" he asked, his voice dripping with flattery.

"Maki." She replied simply, ignoring his sarcasm.

"Please lead your people this way, Maki" the Uchiha motioned behind him to the left of the wall where a grand archway awaited them.

Maki walked to the head of the procession, leading them forward towards the archway. Once inside, they lined up the carriages and carts. The royal family descended from their respective carriages and were greeted by a tall, armoured Uchiha. One portion of his raven blue hair cut across his face, covering his right eye, while the other was tucked behind his ear. The rest of his hair rose up in a messy, spiky fashion behind his head.

"Ah! Mizuka-sama!" he took Mizuka's hand and kissed it gently. "It seems your appearance is far more delectable than I would have imagined." His voice didn't drip with flattery as the envoy's had. He held a deep admiration for Mizuka's clan as he was one of the few who had seen their true power.

"And you are?" Mizuka asked him. The surrounding Uchiha gaped at her question. If it was anyone else, they would have been slaughtered on the spot for asking such a question. Anyone if not everyone knew who the leader of the Uchiha was.

"Ah yes forgive me. I forgot that you and I have not met before." He straightened himself and brought his eyes to hers. "I am Uchiha Tajima. And I humbly welcome you to the Land of Fire"

**Hello again.**

**Sorry for the late update. I was sick the whole of last week **

**Anyways – here's an extra-long chapter for you! THEY'VE FINALLY REACHED THE LAND OF FIRE YAAYY! **

**Enjoy!**


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